A review by wardenred
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

When the going gets tough, the tough go viral. 

This was a really fun and relaxing summer read, a classic YA romcom, except queer and with a Black lead. Most of the beats in the story will be quite familiar to anyone who has watched their share of high school movies and read their share of YA contemporaries. But hey, do we read these stories for the originalities, or do we read them for the feels? For me, it's definitely the latter, and here, there were feels a-plenty.

I really enjoyed the characters in this one. Liz was a compelling protagonist to follow, and everyone around her brought their own flavor into the story: her family, her rekindled friendship with Jordan, Gabi's mixture of messed-up insecurities and fierce loyalty, and, of course, Mack—she was probably my favorite here, especially in those moments where she started rambling and it was just so relatable. 

Even though the story as a whole is pretty lighthearted and hopeful, there are moments that get pretty serious: the money matters, dealing with a family member's chronic illness, the grief for a dead parent, the effects of divorce on kids. I felt they were very sensitively handled and brought depth to the story.

I won't lie and say this was a super memorable book for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm happy I've read it.
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